As I wrote last week, we are hoping to welcome our baby at home (there is a big inflatable birth pool in my bedroom as I write this! on the eve of my due date no less!), so I have not even packed a hospital bag. Everything we need for the birth and for the baby is ready and waiting in my closet, including many of the newborn essentials I mentioned in this previous post.

Speaking of hospital bags… I recently stumbled across an article about what women from around the world take with them to the hospital when they give birth. It is fascinating! It makes you realise how ‘essentials’ can differ across cultures and countries. After seeing the photos from women around the world, I thought I would gather some of my post-birth products onto my bed and snap my version of my ‘hospital bag’ contents.

What am I forgetting? Anything you packed in your hospital bag that I didn’t mention above? And were there things you packed that you never used and wouldn’t pack again? Your tips will be helpful to other mamas so please share!

Tags

Comments (10)

Nina Stegelmann

March 14, 2017

Organic nipple cream. I have forgotten the brand, it came in a yellow tube when I had children, which seems so long ago already, haha! All the best for you Courtney, I am so happy you get to have another baby, it is absolutely the best! xx Nina

The best things I packed were a short robe, nursing bras, maternity leggings (the kind that go high over your belly), a belly binder, and cheap flip flops for the hospital floor and shower. I had surgical births for all of my children, so it was important that I have clothing that supported my belly but didn’t irritate my incision. I also recommend packing lots of snacks for when hunger strikes at 3am!

The things I packed the first time that were unnecessary: a book, a hairdryer, and an extra pillow.

Love your simple picks and yes, I completely agree – it’s amazing to see what is considered essential for expecting mamas to take in their bags. My fave nursing dress for the hospital and for lounging at home or those early days out and about was the Au Lait Going Home Dress, based here in NYC – you should check them out. It has simple and discreet nursing access which is nice when you don’t feel like sharing everything with your in laws or ever guest who comes to visit you and your new babe! Their seamless nursing bra is amazing too and I still wear mine all the time. Wishing you a wonderful birth and I can only imagine all the love that new baby is going to be embraced with in your home! xohttp://www.aulaitshop.com/the-going-home-dress/

This is really helpful, Courtney. Thank you! I am due seven weeks after you, with my first baby, and I have been following along with each of your pregnancy posts. It’s such an exciting and emotional time, feeling my baby gain strength inside me and facing a new period in my life without work as I head into a five-month maternity leave. I know there will be so much to love about staying home with my baby (and so much to fear when we introduce childcare), and yet I can’t help feeling nervous about being without the professional identity I’ve fostered for a decade. I admire your (and Esther’s and Emilie’s) entrepreneurial spirit, in bridging your identity as a parent with your professional, working self, and I look forward to building my own bridge, too. 💛

My daughter was born a month early so my husband and I literally rushed out of the house like chickens with our heads cut off and had nothing! Very similar to what you see in the movies haha. I am due in August with my second baby so this time I vow to be prepared well ahead of time just in case! However, in delivering my daughter in the hospital without having anything, I realized that you really don’t need much! The hospital provides just about everything you need, and while it may not be as glamorous as having your own things, it still works! But still, the second time around I would like to have a few of my own essentials for extra comfort 🙂 This list is a great idea of items to bring without going overboard.

If you’re in America you wont need swaddles, onesies, underwear, baby hats, diapers (unless you prefer your own brand), or pads. They give you all of that in the hospital. The only clothes you need for baby would be a going home outfit if you want to take a sweet photo, but even then you could still just wear the ones they give you. I also never understood the chapstick thing – why would you be thinking about your lips in labor? Is it for after? I never needed that .

Loose fitting clothes, slippers, and a robe were important though and camera / charger

Headphones are an essential for me – I like to go into my own little world… For my second birth I lived in a dressing gown provided by the birthing centre, it was so great for stepping in and out of the shower as the mood took me… I thought there would be one provided at my third birth, but there wasn’t – and I missed it so!

Best tip I was given: Bendable Drinking Straws! Sounds odd I know but in a very hot hospital in summer after a 40 hour labour, I was very grateful for my partner holding a drink and pointing the straw in my direction between each contraction. It meant I only had to move my head and I could still concentrate on what I was doing!

Healthly snacks for after birth! Fiber foods like golden berries and a pear or two to help (ahem) with bowel movements. Protein like nuts to replenish strength. (golden berries also have iron which is always a good thing to replenish after birth). * Motherlove Sitz Bath Spray – esp. soothing if you’ve had to be cut…just spray on pad. * And for lip balm – so recommend Hurraw Lip Balm – so soothing and soft!

RELATED POSTS

Annie Ridout is founder and editor of The Early Hour - a digital parenting and lifestyle magazine for people who are up early. I was introduced to Annie last year when she ran a story about our family gap year on her site, and we have stayed in touch ever since. She is also a freelance ...

OK, the title of this Tuesday Tips might be slightly exaggerated, but really -- I'm not the biggest fan of long car journeys. And especially not with children! I feel like a snack service, entertainment centre and traffic control centre all in one, and that for a very. long. time. Soon we'll have another lengthy car journey ...

This is a tip for brushing children's teeth which I learned from Courtney when we were still living in London. Easton and Sara were both tiny little toddlers, playing so sweetly together (if they weren't pulling each other's hair out). We would meet up for dinner ever so often, feed our babies their purees, give them their baths ...

Slowly but steadily I'm getting the news of Sara's friends getting their first period. Between the age of 11 and 13 it will most likely take place. (Of course some girls are younger, and some are older.) Sara is not there yet, but it might not be that long now! Do you remember getting your ...

Over the past ten months of our travels, Michael and I have fallen into a bad habit. We try to encourage Marlow to walk wherever we go, but she never gets far before asking (and then demanding...) to be carried. She has become so spoiled having both her parents (and big brothers!) with her every day, ...

Tammie Flinos met her husband at the young age of eighteen. On their second date they decided they were going to adopt a child. After two biological children, they moved to Dubai where they began the adoption process. Here Tammie met Jodie Hampshire and Selina Smyth, two other women who were going through the adoption ...

Easton will turn 13 next month, and in perfect timing, he is beginning to act like a teenager. Suddenly, it seems that I can't do anything right, and he feels compelled to complain about everything: The specific t-shirt he wants to wear isn't clean. We're not leaving on time; we'll definitely be late. The music in ...

How did you introduce your older children to your brand new and adorable newborn? I received great advice from a friend about that first moment when they meet, which was really easy to do... When you introduce the beautiful new baby to its siblings, you shouldn't hold the baby. It can easily look like the sibling is ...

How do you take care of your eldest child(ren) when you are about to have a baby? Well, I recently ran into a local mum. She is due with her second child and asked me what I experienced differently while pregnant the second time. And my answer, without even thinking twice, was that I worried more about ...

A little while ago, a reader asked us for some gifting inspiration for the daughter of a friend, who just got her period for the first time. I thought this was such a very sweet and special idea! It's also quite relevant for me, as Sara just turned 12, and it won't be long for her... I ...

During this year of adventure we have enjoyed mostly sunny, warm climates. This was by design, of course, and following the sun meant we didn't have to burden ourselves or our bags with heavy, winter clothing. The slight downside was that we have spent a year toting around hats, sun shirts and sun cream, rarely going a day without thinking about sun ...

My husband and I love culture and history, and one of our favourite (weekend) activities is to go to museums. When traveling to new places, but also when we're at home here in Amsterdam, we love to discover the information and inspiration that museums can offer us. Our love for museums has certainly rubbed off on our children ...